


A sliver of hope among the darkness

by FireAngel5683



Series: Fathers and Sons (it's complicated) [1]
Category: Emmerdale
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2019-11-06
Packaged: 2021-01-24 12:20:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21338143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireAngel5683/pseuds/FireAngel5683
Summary: After Robert goes to prison Aaron struggles to cope until something unexpected turns up at his doorstep and for the first time in a long time he sees where he's going.
Relationships: Aaron Dingle & Robert Sugden, Aaron Dingle & Robert Sugden & Seb White, Aaron Dingle/Robert Sugden
Series: Fathers and Sons (it's complicated) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1538230
Kudos: 36





	A sliver of hope among the darkness

**Author's Note:**

> I'm uploading all of the mini-fics and headcanons that I've posted up on Tumblr under the username @robertandaaron-robron.  
Original AN:  
My whole dash is talking about how Aaron should get custody of Seb so here’s my take on how this would happen. It got a little longer than I had planned but I think it turned out alright. Also, I’m a little upset at how everyone is sort of pushing Aaron to forget about Robert when he just lost his husband and he’s not even had the time to deal with that.

He arrives home tied, after a long day. Recently everything had been so hard, what with Robert not being around, but it’s not like he could talk to anyone now could he? Everytime that he tried they’d push him back down, make him feel like it was somehow his fault that he couldn’t just magically cope with the loss of his husband, the only person it seemed who actually listened to him and didn’t try to get him to be someone he wasn’t just so he could feel better.

He had tried to talk to Paddy and Chas for christ sake he had even tried to talk to Liv but none of them understood, none of them tied to. They’d just make it out to be like he was a child throwing a temper tantrum and that he should just get over it all like his husband hadn’t just been ripped away from him. As if his entire future, their plans, hadn’t been pulled out from under him. It was a cruel joke, and he just wanted Robert to pop up out of somewhere and they could go back to being together. Why couldn’t they understand that the only person who saw him, who truly understood him and had never brushed him off when he was being ridiculous had just been taken away from him?

He just wanted to be able to talk to his husband to see him, to hold him, but he couldn’t anymore. They all wanted him to pretend to be happy; his new baby sister should be the stuff of celebration, yet anytime he couldn’t pretend to be happy they’d throw a dirty glance at him as if it was ridiculous that he was running their special moment with his dark and somber mood. Maybe that’s why he’d failed to notice something was wrong until he got to the front door finally noticing that it was open. 

“Hello”, he called out confused. As far as he knew no one was meant to be coming over, but then again recently it was almost like he couldn’t be left alone for more than 5 seconds without someone showing up afraid that he might do something stupid.

“Aaron” Rebecca calls out, and he finally steps inside and notices her sitting on the couch Seb playing on the floor. She looks confused for a moment seeming to forget where she is and what exactly it was that she was doing here before she frowns and tears begin to form in her eyes. He feels awkward, unsure of what to do or say to get her to calm down but then he notices all of the bags sitting around the floor and for the first time since Robert got sent down he feels a sliver of joy.

“Aaron” She starts up again “It’s getting worse, I don’t think I’m any good to him like this. What if something happens and I forget about him, I can’t keep him safe. The other day we were in the store and I forgot where I was and I went home and then suddenly I realized that I left him there, I left my son all alone at the store and it’s not like I remembered 5 minutes later. Aaron, I left him there for hours. What if someone had taken him, and it would have been my fault?”

He feels a pang of sadness for her knows how hard it must be for her to admit she’s a danger to her son. He knows that she had been doing better but something had happened between her and Ross and ever since then it seemed that she’d gotten worse and worse and now she couldn’t take care of Seb.

“I don’t think I can do this anymore Aaron. I know that Roberts in prison but you’re also Seb’s dad and I know it was horrible of me to assume but I think he should stay with you. I’d still like to see him sometimes, visit him, but he should live here with you full-time. You’ll be a much better parent for him than I ever could be.” 

“Are you sure?” 

She nods, before glancing down at her phone and standing up. 

“I need to go, or I’ll miss my bus back. I’ll have my lawyer draft up some papers so you have custody of Seb” she wipes tears off her face and hugs him “you’re going to be a wonderful dad and Seb’s lucky to have you”

He watches her leave and close the door behind her before it hits him, Seb’s his. He was going to be able to decide on his future. He’d get to see him grow up and he wouldn’t have to worry about anyone taking him away from him. He looks down and sees him playing with a stuffed giraffe they’d gotten for him as a joke and feels tears threatening to fall. 

“I know Seb. I miss daddy too, but you get to live here now with me and we’ll go visit your daddy as much as possible okay” he picks Seb up and hugs him close inhaling his soothing scent, and rubbing a hand across his back. Things weren’t perfect or anywhere near there, his husband was still in prison and was going to be for years but he had Seb to think of, their son and for the first time since Robert had been arrested he felt himself smile and actually mean it.


End file.
